Health Hazards in Hair Treatments?

You may not know it but your trips to the salon for hair treatments may be compromising your health and destroying the environment.

You probably are among the many people who think that since a treatment is available in the salon you frequently go to, it means that the treatment is safe and pose no danger to your health thinking that the treatment has been regulated by concerned authorities.

Unfortunately, this is not the case. There are certain loopholes in the regulation of toxic substances which is the reason why certain beauty treatments and products become available for public use. For example, in the United States, certain loopholes in the TSCA or Toxic Control Substance Act resulted to the inability of the FDA or US Food and Drug Administration to legally mandate companies to test their products for safety which just means that in salons, workers and both customers alike are left exposed to toxic chemicals and vulnerable to its hazardous effects.

The Call for Green Hair Treatments

Luckily the call to go green is becoming stronger than ever and some concerned people have started putting up green salons. A high number of green salon owners are sharing that most of their customers are taken by surprise when they walk inside their salon and not be greeted by the smell of ammonia. Most popular salons use ammonia for hair color treatments and many salon-goers have accepted the smell of ammonia as one of the inconveniences they have to take when getting their hair colored. However, ammonia is not just a minor inconvenience. It poses certain health hazards when inhaled especially in high concentrations such as burning of the nose, throat and respiratory tract. Such can destroy airway which can cause respiratory distress or failure. Even prolonged exposure to low concentrations of ammonia can result to coughing and irritation of the nose.

Health Hazards in Hair Straightening Treatments

Hair straightening treatments such as the Brazilian Blowout can be very toxic to both workers and customers as products containing formaldehyde is used in these kinds of treatments. Formaldehyde is already known as a human carcinogen or simply put a substance that can cause cancer. When you get such a treatment, exposure to formaldehyde continues every time heat is applied to the hair since these dangerous fumes are reactivated by heat. For your health and for the health of others, it is best to avoid chemical hair treatments.

Health Hazards in Hair Dyes and Hair Extensions

Hair dyes and hair extensions may seem safe for many salon goers but they do come with health hazards. In the United States, an estimated two-thirds of conventional hair dyes contain the chemical PPD or para-phenylenediamine. This chemical is already banned for use in products in European countries like Germany, France and Sweden. Exposure to PPD can trigger allergic reactions including skin irritation and even death. In 2010, a teenager died from getting exposed to PPD and experiencing anaphylactic shock. Most conventional hair dyes also contain known carcinogens in its ingredients, usually derived from tar. Hair extensions also may have 1-4 dioxane which the US EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) listed as a possible carcinogen and styrene which is a neurotoxin. To be safe, have your hair color treatments done in green salons that do not use synthetic chemicals, ammonia and PPD.